German Red Cabbage: A Family Tradition

Welcome to the April 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Family Recipes

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants are sharing their recipes, their stories, their pictures, and their memories.

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Growing up, my mother made a lot of ethnic food. Her mother, my maternal grandmother, was from what is now Slovakia. It always seemed odd to me that we ate so many traditional foods that contained the name German in them. It seems that Slovak culture is very similar to its neighbor but has its own spin.

My favorite dish was German Red Cabbage. My mother made it every holiday and it was my request for my birthdays. I looked forward to eating that dish every time. All family gatherings necessitated this dish, which caused a ritual argument between my mother and my paternal grandmother, with her husband’s heavily German last name. My grandmother swore that my mother put sugar in the dish because that’s what German Red Cabbage was supposed to have. Whether it was due to a regional difference in the Slovak made dish or a condition of my maternal grandmother’s diabetes, my mother’s cabbage had no sugar added.

I now make this dish for the holidays and any meal which might constitute a feast. My husband’s family gladly latched onto it and expects me to make it. Although must of my children barely tough the dish, it’s one I won’t give up making, not only because it remains my favorite but also because it reminds me of my mother.

German Red Cabbage

Ingredients:

1 head of red cabbage

1/2 pound bacon

1 onion

vinegar

water

Directions:

Cook the 1/2 pound of bacon and crumble. Reserve some of the bacon drippings.

Dice the onion and saute in the reserved bacon drippings.

Rough chop the cabbage.

Place all ingredients in a pressure cooker along with a suitable amount of liquid made of 2 parts vinegar to 1 part water.

Cook until the pressure cooker begins “shake-a-shaking” (my mother’s official term) and time an additional 8 minutes.

Be certain to take precautions with the pressure cooker while bringing it to a cooler temperature to remove lid.

The Best Banana Muffin Recipe (Gluten Free & Vegan) — Dionna of Code Name: Mama’s adventures in gluten free baking have not been 100% successful. But today she is guest posting at Fine and Fair to share a banana muffin recipe that will knock your socks off!

Do you want to know a secret? — SRB at Little Chicken Nuggets lets go of her mac and cheese recipe, a comfort food favourite for friends and family for years.

Creating Our Own Family Recipes — Emily at S.A.H.M. i AM shares how she’s trying to create meals that her girls will want to pass down to their own children some day.

Vranameer Chicken: A Family Recipe — Luschka at Diary of a First Child shares a recipe that reminds her of childhood and more specifically, of her mother. It’s a South African take on sweet and sour chicken and what it lacks in healthy it makes up for in tantalising to the taste buds.

All-Purpose Crock Pot Pork — Crunchy Con Mommy‘s simple “recipe” for cooking perfect pork in the crock pot is for whatever mood her family is in!

Family Rules: A Recipe for Harmony — Cooped-up kids + winter weather + frazzled parents can all blend together into a recipe for disaster. Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares what brought back the peace in her house.

Favorite Healthy Family Recipes — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares her family’s healthy eating experiences along with links to free printable vegetarian recipes that her family has created with love.

Grandma’s Banana Bread — Megan at The Boho Mama has early and fond memories of her grandma’s banana bread. It’s love in a loaf!

Family Comfort Food — Jorje of Momma Jorje shares a recipe handed down that moms have made for their kids, for regular meals as well as to comfort.

Did you bring this over for our Germany class? I swear I’ve had this, and I don’t remember whether I made it, or if I ate it somewhere else. At any rate, I remember I enjoyed it
~Dionna @ CodeNameMama.com

Yum! My parents were Polish immigrants and we have had red cabbage many a time at the dinner table I too struggle with having my husband try some of the more “out there” recipes – like Polish pickle soup. By far my favorite soup in the world but to many people it’s so weird!

I have never been a fan of cabbage, but it is slowly growing on me. My husband loves all things German and this look a LOT easier than some of the other things he wants to try! Now, we just need a pressure cooker… this might convince him!

I’m not a huge cabbage person, but I think I may have to try this! Cabbage is so good for you, but I have a hard time choking it down a lot of the time. Adding bacon definitely seems like it’ll work for me.